Musik - Sprache der Welt

In February 1954, as part of a promotional campaign, Deutsche Grammophon produced a now legendary 10 inch LP titled Musik . . . Sprache der Welt (Music - the Universal Language), that presented selections of its then current recordings.

That LP, now a rare collector's item, consisted of extracts of works by the great composers. Each selection had a brief spoken introduction and was intended as a marketing tool for salesmen, to give - as Deutsche Grammophon wrote - "an impression of the breadth and quality of our repertoire . . . a kind of calendar in sound." It offered something different from the usual sales information sheets and record catalogues.

By reviving the title (and using the original Musik . . . Sprache der Welt cover art), we have developed this series to recreate the flavour and the spirit of those times at Deutsche Grammophon.

The 10 CD set of chronologically ordered orchestral works - from Haydn to Bruckner - features familiar iconic recordings (such as Furtwńngler's Schumann Fourth) that appear alongside recordings completely new to CD (e.g. Lehmann's Schubert and Sanderling's Beethoven Second). In fact, over half of these recordings appear internationally on CD for the first time. In many cases the recordings on the original LP are complemented by bonus material from the same conductor. In some cases, two LP sets have been put onto a single CD. The reproduction of original artwork and the illustrative material contained here evoke the look and feel of that period, and serve as a testimony to the cultural and aesthetic values of another era.